Recent Pics - 9+ Weeks

Time seems to be going by faster now that I've gone back to work! Thankfully my employer has agreed to let me try getting my hours in a 4 day week with working from home when necessary on Wednesdays. Today is my first Wednesday home, and it's been great! I've gotten some things for work accomplished as well as been able to spend time with Isabelle. Dropping her off at the sitter is still hard, but the routine that we're all getting into makes it a little easier.

Here are some recent pics:

What'choo doin'?

THE COOLEST chick on the block

Hanging out

Enjoying time in the floor gym

8 Weeks Old Today!

Today, Isabelle is 8 weeks old. This marks quite a few new things that will be happening. For one, I re-join the work force tomorrow. I wish I could spend more time with her. As many of my family members have told me: At this age, dropping her off at daycare will be harder on me than it is on her. We took her to meet the gal that will be taking care of her until our original person gets off her maternity leave in August (she's also having a girl, so here's hoping Isabelle will have a good little playmate!) She was great, and I think Isabelle will do really well with her, but I still left there with a pit in my stomach.

Also today, we had our 2 month doctor's appointment. Isabelle is 11 lbs, 6.5 oz, so a little lighter than I thought, but still in a great place. That puts her at around the 75th percentile for weight. She's 23.5" in length, which puts her at the 90th percentile for height. So our little one, at least for the moment, is a tall one! Guess that's why she's out of most 0-3 month clothing! Isabelle also had to get her first round of shots today. That experience had us both a little upset. She seems to have forgotten about the incident much sooner than I have at the moment....there was just something in her reaction to the pain that got to me. It was evident by her reaction that she really never had experienced pain or pinching before. I wished I could have taken the shots for her.

So onto the more fun part of the post. This morning, I tried to take some 2 month pictures of Isabelle with the birthday bear. Below is my favorite....a couple of the others are included below because I had a hard time deciding which one I liked best... ;)

Isabelle at 8 weeks with great-grandma's b-day bear.

Isabelle in the midst telling me a story.

So peaceful

Now onto the out-takes: I thought this one was cute, she was distracted by something outside the window.

Here is my favorite shot, but it wasn't appropriate to use as THE 2 month picture. I call this Isabelle's "gangsta" pose. Note she's giving the 'sign.' Word.

7 & Some

It's hard to believe that the little Peanut will be 8 weeks old this coming Monday. I also can't believe how fast she's grown, or the amount she's changed. Another thing that's hard to believe is how much Dan and I have adapted in this relatively short amount of time. For example, I now have a ratings system for diapers. The severity of the mess is rated in the number of wipes it takes to clean it up. So far the ratings scale has ranged from 1 to 5....5 being achieved just today. I didn't know so much could come from one so little in such a short amount of time. :P

Recent pics:

We love the changing table

We also love the mirror attached to the changing table

Isabelle in her car seat at almost 7 weeks...we graduated to taking out the newborn inserts. She looks much different in here now than when we brought her home.

We love Daddy. I should also say that this picture was taken shortly after the "5 wipe" incident.

6 Weeks Old Already

Monday marked the end of 6 weeks for us in life with Peanut. I had my 6 week check-up with my doctor - everything is good, she said to call if I need anything. She gave me a big hug on her way out of the room. I will miss seeing her and talking with her. Honestly however, I am happy that medically, I can be left ALONE on that front for awhile.

On to Isabelle! I stepped on our scale with her this morning...it's not the greatest scale in the world, but it works...according to that, Isabelle is up to 11.5 lbs! So, it isn't our imagination...she really IS growing! The newborn clothing is on it's way to being packed away because she's too tall for it now. She's talking a little more, interacting a little more, and it seems to me that she's turning into more of a very little person now with her own emerging personality.

Some pics from the past few days:

Sheesh....growing is hard work!

Does this pacifier make my face look funny?

Here's Isabelle giving big brother a hard time....and Magnum saying 'Mom, make it stop!'

Heading Towards 6 Weeks Old

We're heading towards the 6 week mark this coming Monday. While it seems like the long sleep that we had a couple of weeks ago were just a fluke for the time being (yep, Dan and I are back to being sleep deprived), there are plenty of firsts still going on. In the evenings, Isabelle is alert and awake (and a lot of the time upset). When she isn't upset, she likes to lay on the floor and squirm and kick and just generally take in the world around her and stretch out. I readied the floor gym yesterday, so we'll see how she likes that when she's ready for her floor time this evening. If any of you guys have any ideas of how to take the relatively sleepy mornings and alert evenings and nights and shift them a little, let me know! I'd rather she be sleepy at night when its time to go to bed! She doesn't have her days and nights mixed up exactly, her awake times just tend to be towards late afternoons and evenings, which isn't a problem until it gets close to 10-12...and we have to be productive the next day. Is she still developing her little internal clock, or is our little girl destined to be more of a night owl? (Just like mom and dad in college....OY...could she be getting this from US???) When she isn't upset, she's started doing a little cooing, which is a much welcome change.

Anyway, here's what Isabelle has been up to lately, aside from being upset at night:

What are THESE? Are they good to suck on?

Yep! They work great! (note she's STILL flipping the camera off...she fits right in!)

She can now actually SEE the mirror and mobile above the swing. She's also practicing her smile, which hasn't come out too much just yet.

Very First Mother's Day

Yesterday was my very first Mother's Day as a mom. It was a special day that I'll remember for a long time. Dan surprised me in bed with something he said he and Izzy picked out. There was a card and one of those "small boxes." In the box was a necklace with a Mother's pendant that has Isabelle's birthstone set in it. What a surprise! I didn't expect anything like that. I also didn't expect how seeing it and knowing they (ok Dan, really) had picked it out just for me would make me feel. Had I not still been half asleep, I would have most certainly teared up (in a good way). The good day didn't stop there. We took Isabelle and all 3 of us went to Target for a bit, then to a Mexican restaurant in town, and then to some friends' place for some conversation and just to hang out for a bit. That may not seem like much for an outing, but it was our first outing with all 3 of us. It was amazing to feel like we could actually start doing things together again....within reason anyway. We still have to be mindful of feeding times to avoid melt-downs, but it's a start!

A Fluke or ?

Well, right on the heels of her 1 month birthday, Isabelle had a little surprise in store for us. Yesterday she was awake most of the afternoon and evening, and not MAD the entire time...just awake, which was nice. Then at her ~9/10 o'clock feeding she took 4 oz...a big meal for one so small! Then around 11:30 she finally went to sleep.....until 5:30 this morning. That's right...7 hours between meals, 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep! What is this world coming to??? I'm hoping that last night wasn't a fluke...then I started looking back at the log I've been keeping. Aside from the night before last, she's been eeking out longer and longer periods at night....2 days ago it was 6.5 hours between feedings at night, she just didn't go to sleep...so maybe we're starting a good trend. Here's hoping!

She was also interested in just laying on the couch and kicking her feet and moving her arms around last night and studying the light patters on the couch. She did that for almost 1/2 an hour....it was a little strange, but I guess the black couch with white light shining off it could be interesting. I'm thinking it might be time to start getting out the floor gym?

One Month Old Picture

A friend of mine and I were talking about things to do to commemorate some of the smaller things as time passes. One of the ideas was to take a picture of the kids with a stuffed animal as the months go by as one gauge of growth and development. Well, Isabelle was dressed for the part this afternoon, and was awake between feedings this afternoon, so we decided to play a little. Here are a couple of the best shots.

I'm hoping to take a similar picture, at least with great-grandma's birthday beenie every month. We'll see how that goes.

One Month Old!

It's hard to believe that one month ago today, right now...I was about to begin hard labor. The month has both flown and dragged. The adjustments have been many, and as many have warned us, once we think we get the hang of something, it changes again. This promises to be an interesting but rewarding journey.

Isabelle continues to grow and change. We've graduated to Size 1 diapers and they seem to be working ok even tho they look ridiculously big on her. We've also grown out of our first sleeper. I was warned that they grow fast, but jeez, I figured things would last a bit longer. Live and learn, I guess! Isabelle has also found the chain that I usually wear around my neck. Whether on purpose or not, she often gets a good grip on it!

All of my sisters, one bro-in-law, and my Dad came up this last weekend. It was awesome to see my family. I usually keep myself busy enough that I can block out how much I miss them, but there's something about having a baby that makes me want to be around my family more. I know it's because I miss them and because they all have the experience to tell me that Isabelle is doing all the things she should, as am I. I think a part of it also is that we share memories of Mom and we all still miss her. I wish she was here for me to share this with.

We're hoping to catch the first smile soon, but until then here are a few pictures.

My Dad meeting his newest granddaughter

Isabelle seemingly practicing for her senior pictures...(ha ha)

My sisters and me with Isabelle.

The comic relief....."I can't believe I ate the WHOLE thing...."

This Week's Happenings

This week has certainly been an educational one. We learned that the mirror in the car likes to drop down behind the car seat, how to use the bulb syringe, how to clean OUT the bulb syringe, and that a whole list of things are normal concerning newborns. Yes, we went to the doctor yesterday with some questions. Everything was fine...I was just told to watch her congestion. During the appointment, the nurse weighed her.....we now have a 9# 1/2oz baby! I thought she looked like she was growing! She went from 25 percentile in weight to about the 60th, more closely matching her height, which is at the 75th percentile at the moment. So, that taught me 2 important things...1) She's getting enough to eat...and 2) She wakes HERSELF up when she's hungry....there's no need to wake her up....especially at night!

More firsts this week...first trip into a store...went to the town and country to get some dog food for Magnum. Isabelle slept. We also had our first trip to a friend's house. On the way back from getting dog food we stopped by the Lenzendorf household for some chatting. Izzy also slept there...until she got hungry! Also had to make the first adjustments to the car seat....Izzy was too tall for the setting that we had it on, so we bumped the shoulder straps up a notch.

Here are some pics from the week:

Isabelle's very own recliner. We love the Boppy!

Hello there.

And here is big brother enjoying a quiet moment,,,